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You should know that Peru is lovely and wonderful, and you'll have an awesome time. Other things:

Spend the money to use a more expensive bus if you're gonna travel that way. I like Cruz Del Sur. Also, spend the money to buy the nice bed seats -- its so nice to be able to recline.

If you are on a budget, look for places with "menú" advertised. They usually have a set 3-course meal for super cheap.

Cuy is in fact, guinea pig. It doesn't taste great and tends to be expensive. I'd skip it, personally.

Peruvians seem very invested in the democratic process (much more than voters from my home state, let's just say that.). You might see a political rally if you are lucky; I always go to those, because they are very interesting and dynamic.

Also, towns often have fun festivals going on. Keep your eye out for signs in the plaza de armas. I've been to rocking cuy festivals, a lantern festival, even a festival where people in giant fruit costumes danced around. Usually I found these by surprise!

Safety: I have always felt very safe in Peru. I've traveled extensively as an early twenties woman, for what its worth. But don't be stupid -- use legitimate taxies (the 'green taxis' in Lima airport), have your hotel pick you up where possible, and ride better bus lines. And if something IS to happen, just hand over your stuff and don't put up a fight. A good friend was on a bus that got hijacked about two years ago, and what she said really stood out : "people just want your stuff, they don't want to hurt you."

Altitude: take some time to adjust. I always drink lots of coca tea - it really helps my headaches for altitude.

Time: Are you planning to do all those things in a week? That might be rushing it a bit, in my opinion.

I'll be in Peru for 10 days. I plan on spending most of my time in Cuzco. I'm unfortunately not hiking the Inca trail because my friend said he couldn't afford it. We were gonna go through Aqua Calientes and take a bus or hike to Machu Pichu from there so I think I'll have enough time.

I would recommend NOT staying or dining in Aguas Calientes. It's the most expensive tourist trap I encountered in my time there. Machu Picchu is awesome! But I think the Sacred Valley is just as awesome and so much chiller. Definitely don't miss it. Have fun!

I have left reddit for a reddit alternative due to years of admin mismanagement and preferential treatment for certain subreddits and users holding certain political and ideological views.

The situation has gotten especially worse since the appointment of Ellen Pao as CEO, culminating in the seemingly unjustified firings of several valuable employees and bans on hundreds of vibrant communities on completely trumped-up charges.

The resignation of Ellen Pao and the appointment of Steve Huffman as CEO, despite initial hopes, has continued the same trend.

As an act of protest, I have chosen to redact all the comments I've ever made on reddit, overwriting them with this message.

Finally, click on your username at the top right corner of reddit, click on the comments tab, and click on the new OVERWRITE button at the top of the page. You may need to scroll down to multiple comment pages if you have commented a lot.

If you're gonna try guinea pig, try it in the Highlands eg. Cusco. If you want ceviche, eat it near the coast, eg. Lima. In the highlands there is a higher chance of it not being fresh due to the distance for the sea (although some fish is caught in rivers).

When in Lima, always change money at a bank. There are people in blue vests on the street that do it but they have been known to give out fake money. Also never except any notes that are ripped or damaged, they are void and you'll have a hard time spending them.

Haggle.

Assuming tour flying into Lima, the taxi fare into the city should not cost more than 20USD, some taxi driver will try and rip you off.

To convert soles to usd roughly half the amount.

Cruz del Sur is a fantastic bus company, for not that much money you get a big, comfy seat, power outlets and wifi plus your own personal android tablet with some movies and music on.

Get to Machu Picchu as early as possible and consider hiring a guide/joining a tour group. It's pretty big and you'll appreciate it more if you know what some of the rooms were for!

In some places they have Vino Caliente - hot (mulled?) wine. Not particularly peruvian I don't think but it was delicious.

That's all I can think of so far, Peru is a lot of fun. You'll have a blast I'm sure!

As someone else said, as a 20-something woman, I never felt unsafe. Just use common sense, and you'll be okay.

Personally, I would avoid spending more time in Lima then necessary, especially if you only have 10 days. Yeah, it's nice to walk the coastline there and see the para-gliders and eat ceviche, but there's other cities in Peru (like Cusco) that are more interesting. Also, Peru has a modest Chinese immigrant population and you can get some great chifa (chinese stir fry), like Lomo Saltado, if you look around for it

Guinea pig should be eaten in Cusco/highlands, if at all. It's not that tasty (too boney and not much meat), but if you want the novelty of trying it I recommend just getting one dish and splitting it with a friend.

I loved Cusco and wished that I had planned more time to stay there. There's an Irish Bar in Plaza de Armas that a lot of foreigners tend to go to right across from the church. I knew some folks who did a free Cusco for "non-tourists" tour at my hostel-- didn't do it myself, but they seemed to enjoy it, I would ask around about it. I also recommend the following places to eat:

Give yourself time to get used to the altitude. Coca leaves or coca tea helps enormously.

Be prepared with medicine for stomach bugs. Most of the people on my Machu Picchu trek got a stomach bug along the way, and that's not pleasant on an 87 k hike.

Don't get into any unmarked taxi cabs. I met a couple who did that at a bus station- he was holding a sign for a hostel. They ended up getting held at gunpoint and robbed. Only go for marked taxi cabs.

Keep in mind that you cannot flush toilet paper! Their systems are not set up to handle it.

The altitude can make you sick if traveling in the mountain region. I got medication from my doctor before leaving that seemed to help a little.

You can't drink the water as is the case in most if not all South American countries. If you're prone to getting sick while traveling bring some antibiotics in case a case of Montezuma's revenge strikes... It happened to me and having antibiotics saved my trip. Your family doc can prescribe them.

I was only there for a few days but there is plenty to do through the travel agencies. Make sure you see ollantaytambo if your into ruins. It was my second favorite place behind Machu Picchu. I stayed at The Point hostel which was a fun place near the Plaza de Armas (town center) but it is a party hostel so it gets loud at night. I felt very safe walking around at night and there are plenty of nice views if you go exploring. There are also a lot of markets where you can haggle to get souvenirs and Inca clothing. Haggling is expected and encouraged. That's all I can think of, I didn't have guinea pig but I had Alpaca and it was delicious.